Walt Disney: An American Hero

Walt Disney is a house hold name to most families, he is the man who is known for creating one of the largest companies in the world (Disney). Though he almost didn’t have the chance to start this company. Starting with his love for art since he was born on 1901 in Chicago, IL. At the age of 16 Walt Disney became a Red Cross member driving an ambulance, and this is where he began drawings designs and cartoons in the ambulance. He then worked as a cartoonist in Kansas but that ended fairly quickly.

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois. His father, Elias, was a carpenter when Walt was born. Eventually, Elias and his wife, Flora, saved up enough money to start a home building company together. Walter had four siblings: Roy, Herbert, Raymond, and Ruth (Russell 9). Because Ruth was younger than Walt, Walt waited until the age of seven to start school so that he could start at the same time as Ruth. Before he went to school, his mother, Flora, taught him how to read (Russell 10). Walt grew up on the Disney family farm and worked hard on the farm. He worked at the neighbor’s farm- raising corn, wheat, barley, cows, pigs, and chickens (Giltin 18). Later, Elias grew sick, and the Disney’s had to sell the farm. They moved to Kansas City (Russell 11). Throughout Walter’s schooling, he loved to be on stage- directing, producing, and being on stage (Russell 11). Many things inspired Walt Disney’s creativity: moving, roaming, playing in the farmyard, fishing, doodling in class, and editing the school newspaper are just a few

On December 5, 1901, Elias Disney and Flora Call Disney gave birth to a man who would eventually change our world by the creation of a little mouse. Walter Elias Disney, who was also known as “Walt,” was born in a small town in Chicago, Illinois, by a father who was an Irish-Canadian descent, and his mother who was a German- English descent. Walt was one out of five children, four brothers and a sister. Their names were Herbert Arthur Disney, Raymond Arnold Disney, Roy Oliver Disney, and Ruth Flora Disney. Walt was the oldest one out of the five. While he attended school, he was introduced to Walter Pfeiffer, who decided to show Walt vaudeville and the art of making movies. Walt decided to drop out of high school, at the age of sixteen, to join the army. He was rejected to join because he was too young of age. He and a friend decided to join the Red Cross, where Walt was an ambulance driver during World War II. In 1919, Walt moved to Kansas City to begin a career in art, and worked for the newspaper, as a newspaper artist. He met Ubbe Iwerks, and he and Disney soon made their own commercial company called, “Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists.”

Walt Disney started out by producing short animated films in 1922 and in 1928 introduced Mickey Mouse, the world most famous cartoon character shown in Figure 4 below (Olsson 1996; Kramer 2002). Following this breakthrough, Kramer (2002) found that Disney proceeded innovatively with new film technologies of sound and colour that resulted in the first successful animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.

Walt Disney once stated,” When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.” Walt disney is a huge impact on many people today. He created the first animated movie, and has created the magic kingdom, known as “Disney World”. Walt Disney was creative, passionate, extremely gentle, and caring. He was known for working way too much. Walt had an interesting background, also along with some great achievements.

Walt Disney was special because of his creativity, dreams, vision, and drive. He developed characters and movies beloved by generations and an entertainment company that is the largest in the world. You might think from all this success that Disney had a lot of advantages when he was young. However, it may surprise you to learn that Walt Disney was not born to rich parents who could provide the right education or the right contacts to help him achieve success. He dropped out of school, moved around a lot and decided to live on his own at an early age because, like most teenagers, he already knew

Walt Disney, a man known around the world, someone who has given magic and imagination into the generation of children and adults around the world. Disney didn’t start famous though, he was born December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Flora and Elias Disney, he also had four siblings, Roy one of his brothers became someone who impacted Walt’s life greatly. In 1906 Walt moved with his family to Marceline, Missouri, this rural area sparked Walt’s love for animation, after school he would go out on his family’s farm and start drawing the animals he saw. In 1917 Walt’s family moved back to Chicago again, here he started to go to McKinley High School, he started to display his animation and drawings in the student newspaper for his

After Disney made Laugh-O-Grams at the Kansas City Film Ad Company, he set out with his brother Roy to Hollywood (“Walt Disney”). In 1923 Walt Disney Studios was made. “In 1937, Disney's innovative first full length animated feature, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, was released to critical acclaim and worldwide success”(“Walt Disney Studios History”). It secured $1,499,000 and ended up with eight Oscars, even though the depression was going on.“During the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed another string of full-length animated films, Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942)”(“Walt Disney”). Disney bought a patent for Technicolor that allowed him to be able to make color animated films while other animators could not (Kim). “Disney was also among the first to use television as an entertainment medium”(“Walt Disney”). One day on a train ride home, Disney started to imagine and think about a mouse named Mortimer. His wife, Lillian Disney, recommended he call the mouse Mickey (Admin.). Mikey was first introduced in Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho with Disney himself as the voice of Mikey. “Disney created a third, sound-and-music-equipped short called Steamboat Willie. With Walt as the voice of Mickey, the cartoon was an instant sensation”(“Walt Disney”). Disney then created the

As stated on the Walt Disney Family Museum website, Walt has won 32 Academy Awards and holds the record for the “most individual Academy Awards won.” (citation 2) Walt won his first Oscar in 1932 for his animated short, Flowers and Trees, which was part of his Silly Symphonies series. Not only did he win his first Oscar for this animated short, but he was also given the Honorary Award for his creation of Mickey Mouse. In 1939, Walt received a custom, hand-made Oscar for his first animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Oscar award consist of a big statuette that resembled Snow White, raised in the middle, while seven miniature statuettes that resembled the Seven Dwarves stood around her. Not only did Walt produce animated films, but he also made a nature documentary. Walt’s 1948 nature documentary, Seal Island, was the very first nature documentary to win an Academy Award. March 25, 1954 was one of the greatest days for Walt’s career. Walt was the first person to win four Oscars in one year, which was the most anyone had ever won. The four categories Walt won were: “Best Cartoon Short Subject (Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom), Best Documentary Short Subject (The Alaskan Eskimo), Best Documentary Feature (The Living Desert), and Best Two-Reel Short Subject (Bear Country).” (citation 1) In the 1960’s, Walt Disney had a necklace designed for his wife, Lillian. This necklace was unique as it had twenty small

On December 5th. 1901 in the town of Chicago, Illinois a baby boy was born with the name of Walter Elias Disney, or as we know, Walt Disney. Growing up as a child Walt’s father, Elias, was a very strict and religious man. His father would physically beat him and his siblings if any sort of toys, drawings, or any type of entertainment was found around the house. His wife, Flora, feared him too. When Walt was born his father was a construction worker and his mother a stay at home mom to five Disney children. His father later then took up a farm in Marceline, Missouri where they then moved to. Walter always loved all the animals on the farm and felt like they were his friends.

Walt Disney was a very important person to the world! He made animations that made kids smile every day. He had many ups and downs in his life... Walt Disney made many animations throughout his life.

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney began his entertainment journey with courage and a dream. Born in 1901 to two loving parents in the state of Illinois, Walt was one of five children. From an early age, he had a special interest in art and drawing. Walt Disney began his career working for others. He drove for the American Ambulance Corps in World War I during his teenage years, and in 1901 Walt started looking for work as an artist. He found an opportunity at the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio. Ubbe Iwerks worked with Walt at the commercial art studio, before they were both laid off in 1920. The two friends attempted to open their own studio and start a business, which was not successful.

His first full length film was Snow white and the seven Dwarfs (Disney bio). A colored filmed; he was one of the first ones to make a colored film. He had the patent to use Technicolor for two years, letting him make one of the only color cartoons (Disney web). This was another effect that made Disney well known.

According to biography.com, “On December 21, 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film, premiered in Los Angeles. It produced an unimaginable $1.499 million, in spite of the Depression, and won a total of eight Oscars.” Walt Disney also held the patient for colored movies for two years making him the only one to create colored animated movies. Over the next couple of years, Walt Disney Studios made some other big movies you may have heard of. They are called, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, and Fantasia. However, in 1939, Disney bought a new campus for the workers but they didn’t like it and most of them resigned or went on strike. But just like always Walt refused to give up and by 1950 he was back making animated movies. Cinderella came out and was huge, and was followed by Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, and Sleeping Beauty. From the 1930s to the 1960s Walt Disney Studios made about 100 features (not all movies, some just short films before movies.) Mary Poppins was the next big movie because it mixed live action and

After losing everything, Walt and Ubbe decided to create another cartoon character now known as Mickey. After creating a series of short cartoons Mickey became the world’s most popular cartoon character in the 1930s. Walt created his first full-length animated musical feature in the production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” which exceeded over $1,400,000 in profit (IMDb, 2010). Throughout 1937-1947 he continued to create full-length movies such as “Pinocchio”, “Fantasia”, “Dumbo”, and “Bambi”. Following his cartoon success, Walt